FIQ nurses union denounces ‘compulsory transfers’

The FIQ nurses union is denouncing the “compulsory transfers” that Quebec wants to impose on nurses, under the guise of “flexibility”.

The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) held a press conference in Montreal on Thursday and two of its members spoke out against employers they say who want to move them from one care unit to another.

FIQ member, Annabelle Beaudry normally works on a psychiatric unit and was asked to work temporarily on the surgical overflow unit.

She had never worked in surgery and politely refused the assignment, explaining that she doesn’t have the experience required for this replacement.

She alleges that her employer went on to suggests that it would be her fault if things went wrong in surgery.

Annabelle says she thought to herself that it could never be worse than killing someone.

Tracey Beaudoin has worked in Plessisville, going to the homes of new mothers to check their health, their newborn, provide advice and vaccinate the children.

Last year, her employer decided that she would occasionally have to go to the neonatal unit to take care of infants a few hours old and mothers who had just given birth.

“I was terrified,” said Beaudoin. “I had never worked in neonatal unit, and I did not consider myself competent for the task imposed on me. I was very afraid of making a serious mistake for a mother or a child. I don’t want to have that on my conscience for the rest of my life.”

FIQ President Julie Bouchard said that when healthcare professionals refuse to be sent to another unit, it does not automatically mean they don’t want to treat patients.

“It is that she feels that she does not have the expertise and experience necessary to properly care for patients,” explained Bouchard. “Taking an expert care professional from your unit and sending her elsewhere, plugging a hole, is not a gain in care, it is a loss of expertise.”

The FIQ denounces the government’s lack of vision for Quebec’s health network.

According to a press release by the FIQ, they say the government needs to put in place measures that will improve and secure care for the population, like ratios rather than propose temporary measures that will exhaust healthcare professionals and push them further out the door.

The FIQ has more than 80,000 members such as nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists working in the health establishments across Quebec.

It’s an organization made up of nearly 90 per cent of women.

With files by La Presse Canadienne.